Samuel Slater & the Bootts

1 Samuel Slater & The Bootts: American Pioneers by P.H. Tunaley Section 1 Slater in England, P1 Section 2 Slater in America, P6 Section 3 Samuel Slater, the Bootts (Kirk Snr. and Jnr.) and the Strutts, P11 Scetion 4 The Bootts, P14 Section 5 Construction P18 Much information contained in sections 1-3 sourced from the 1836 book “Memoir of Samuel Slater, the Father of American Manufactures”, written by George S. White of Philadelphia, who describes himself in the book as having been a “personal acquaintance“ of Samuel Slater. Section 1 Slater in England Samuel Slater (1768-1835) “Father of the American Industrial Revolution”, born Blackbrook, Belper, Derby Samuel Slater was born Blackbrook, Belper, Derbyshire, England on June 9, 1768, at the family's property, Holly House of Holly Farm. Samuel was the fifth son of eight children. His father William Slater is described in most texts solely as a "yeoman" farmer (being the owner, rather than tenant, of farming land), his considerable estate inherited from his own father. Yet William Slater was, according to White, also a wealthy businessman operating as a timber merchant, buying up additional land in and around Belper. William lived just a couple of miles from Jedediah Strutt, resident at nearby Makeney, and it was through William's business contacts that a business relationship with Jedediah was forged. In fact, according to the Belper Research website that includes “People: The Strutts – Biography” at http://www.belper-research.com/strutts_mills/strutt_history.html , it was part of William Slater's land in Belper that Jedediah Strutt acquired for the construction of his mills. Moreover, William Slater's timber business would have interested Strutt when planning the construction of a future cotton spinning mill. Indeed, according to George White, "Being a neighbour of Jedediah Stratt, .......he (William Slater) once made a considerable purchase for him (Strutt) containing a water-privilege on which there is now a very extensive establishment." 2 A "water privilege" was a licence to harness river water power to drive machinery. White then goes on to say, "He (William Slater) was otherwise engaged with Mr. Strutt in making purchases of consequence, who had a high opinion of his abilities and integrity as a man of business." No further details are given but one wonders whether these "purchases" would have included Slater's timber to be used in part construction of Strutt's first mills. Meanwhile Samuel had received a basic education at a school in Belper and at the age of ten (1778) had begun work as a clerk at the cotton mill opened that year by Jedediah Strutt using the water frame pioneered by Richard Arkwright at nearby Cromford Mill. Sadly however, William Slater, the father, died in 1782 following a farming accident, with Samuel now being fourteen years of age. But shortly before William's death, an agreement was reached between Jedediah Strutt and the Slaters for Samuel to become articled and indentured as an apprentice at Strutt's new mill at Milford, "in the Art of Cotton Spinning" according to the indenture certificate, Jedediah then being a partner with Sir Richard Arkwright. According to White, during the six and a half year period of apprenticeship through to 1889 Slater lived with the Strutt family at Makeney. Part of the contract as it appears in White’s book and signed by Strutt and Slater dated 8 th January, 1783 is below. The six and a half year period of apprenticeship meant that Slater was free to set up as a fully qualified Cotton Spinner from 6th July 1789: White only mentions in passing that following his father's death, his mother married again twice, "The mother of Mr. Slater was a fine looking woman, and lived a short time since with her third husband, whom she survived, and often observed, she had been favoured with 'three good husbands' ". White also mentions that Samuel didn't return to Holly House during the first six months of his apprenticeship and puts this down to Slater's complete devotion to his work including carrying out "experiments" at weekends. 3 Whilst White does make clear Slater's continued fondness for his mother, one wonders whether her subsequent two marriages left Samuel feeling isolated from the family home having previously enjoyed a close and happy relationship with his now deceased father. If so, this state of mind could have been a significant factor in explaining both Samuel's complete devotion to his work and later move to America. White confirms that Slater was well-trained by Strutt, having been at the Milford mill almost from the start when he was aged 10 (initially on trial as a clerk) and that, by the age of 21, he would have gained a thorough knowledge of the organisation and practice of cotton spinning. Also important, Slater, apart from being blessed with a good memory, evidently also had the mind of a true engineer, understanding the principles and workings of Strutt's machinery above and beyond the requirements of a straightforward machine operator. White gives one particular example in his biography: "Mr. Strutt endeavoured to improve the heart-motion, that would enlarge or raise the yarn in the middle, so as to contain more on the bobbin. Jedediah Strutt was unsuccessful in his experiments, and Samuel saw what was wanting, and went to work the next Sunday, the only time he had to himself, and formed such a motion, to the satisfaction of his master, who presented him with a guinea." This informs us that in that one area alone, Slater was able to improve on Strutt's machinery, evidently in advance of Jedediah's own knowledge, and it may well be that Slater saw various other possibilities to improve the workings of the mill, albeit his position to effect such improvements constrained by the master-servant relationship. In which case, one can see Slater becoming quietly and increasingly frustrated with his employment. By 1783, on the other side of the Atlantic, the American Revolution had come to an end and new trade deals were being set up between America and Great Britain that satisfied the interests of both countries. America was already very much reliant on imports for many of its goods hence British merchants were particularly welcome in America. One of these merchants was Kirk Boott of Derby, a friend of the Strutts, who emigrated to Boston that same year of 1783 following the cessation of hostilities and subsequent peace between the two countries. The ensuing success stories of Kirk Boott and his son of the same name are detailed later in this article. Coincidentally, 1783 was also the very same year Samuel Slater began his apprenticeship receiving an indenture certificate of contract signed by "Jed Strutt" (White's biography includes 4 a copy of that certificate). There is then the likelihood Slater came to know through Strutt of Boott's success in America in the subsequent years of his apprenticeship. Either way, White gives various clues in his book as to how Slater's mind was working at that time: According to White, even before Slater entered Strutt's business he asked Strutt if the business was considered to be a permanent one to which Strutt replied that such permanency was not probable. White comments, "Indeed the whole cotton business of England was, at that time, confined to a small district in Derbyshire, and its whole amount not greater than that which is done at the present day in a single village in New England". Also, according to White, Slater had at some time considered creating his own business and "enquired of Arkwright and others if they thought the business would be overdone in England", no mention of course being made by Slater of a possible move to America. One might surmise that as far as a reply was concerned Slater received little meaningful reply from Arkwright given the latter was already planning to move his mills into north-west England against the agreement of Jedediah Strutt. If correct, the irony is that one man later became accepted worldwide as the father of the factory-based industrial revolution, the other man oft-quoted as the father of the American industrial revolution with a town, Slatersville, in Rhode Island, founded in 1803, named after him. In reality, according to White, Slater had been contemplating the move to America for some time and then, after completing his apprenticeship, secretly decided to make the move with the aim "to introduce the manufacture of cotton, on the Arkwright improvement, and that he remained after the time of his indenture with that special object in view." According to White, "the first occasion of his (Slater's) thinking of leaving Mr. Strutt, and what finally determined him, was his observing in a Philadelphia paper, a reward offered by a society for a machine to make cotton rollers, &c. This convinced him that America must be very bare of every thing of the kind, and he prepared himself accordingly." William, his wealthy father, had previously bequeathed Samuel two houses and a nail store in Belper as Samuels portion of the estate. Samuel decided to keep these on in case later events in America were to prove adverse requiring a retreat to England. In the event, Samuel never returned to England and the properties were eventually sold "for nearly two thousand dollars" (presumably with the aid of Samuel's brothers including John who later joined Samuel in America). 5 _____________________________________________________ Statement by the Historical Society of Rhode Island (1834) "On the 1st day of September 1789, he took his departure from Derbyshire for London, and on the 13th he sailed for New York, where he arrived in November, after a passage of sixty-six days.

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